Timothée Chalamet is heading into awards season facing his third Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and he knows that whenever his name comes up, the conversation tends to grow legs. Whether it’s his personal relationships or speculation about whether he’ll finally take home a statue when the Oscars hit the 2026 TV schedule on Sunday, March 15, the discourse often stretches far beyond the movie at hand. Lately, that chatter has focused on the idea that Chalamet is aggressively chasing awards — an Oscar “quest.” According to him, though, that narrative doesn’t quite line up with reality.
During a recent Marty Supreme Q&A in London (via Variety), Chalamet addressed the perception head-on, offering context that pulls his ambition back down to earth. The actor explained that while awards do matter, they’re not the end goal people assume they are. Instead, he sees Awards Season as part of a larger ecosystem that keeps films alive in a crowded marketplace. In his words:
Listen, yes. But I want to give you context for that, because sometimes I feel like I’ve been misinterpreted in my quest. All these award things, they supplement the movie. I’m not going to turn this into a monologue about the crisis of theaters and stuff, but when you go to an awards show, everyone’s participating in an advertisement for each other — in the best sense of the word, I’m not saying that in a malicious way.
That philosophy extends beyond trophies and into how Chalamet approaches promotion itself. His recent press runs, which have included surreal visual stunts like matching orange leather outfits with his partner, Kylie Jenner, unconventional appearances, and even a headline-making Saturday Night Live musical performance, have been widely dissected online. Some have labeled them gimmicks, but the Complete Unknown actor doesn’t see it that way.
At the same Q&A, he revealed that he personally spent “six figures out of my pocket” to pull off his SNL musical appearance, after initially being told he could host but not perform. Rather than treating the moment as a marketing opportunity, he framed it as creative expression and audience outreach. That same mindset carries over into how he views awards campaigning in general. Chalamet emphasized that he supports other projects, including Hamnet and One Battle After Another. He continued:
I’m supporting Hamnet and One Battle After Another the way anyone in those movies is supporting Marty Supreme. So anything else, yes, it helps to feed into the narrative … everyone’s pursuing it, you know?
The Little Women performer even admitted he worried his comments could be misunderstood, adding that he’s not lying awake at night fixated on winning. The bigger takeaway is that his so-called “quest” isn’t about chasing validation but maintaining visibility and momentum to keep films in the cultural conversation. Awards, in that sense, are a megaphone for his movies.
Whether Marty Supreme ultimately adds another statue to his shelf remains to be seen. What’s clear is that Timothée Chalamet isn’t playing a one-note game. He’s experimenting, investing in himself, and trying to meet audiences where they actually are, even if that means being misunderstood along the way.
If you missed it, Marty Supreme is still playing in select theaters as part of the 2026 movie release schedule, with a home rental and streaming rollout expected very soon.
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